Judge Questions Proposed Monsanto Settlement

{Winfield, West Virginia}...A West Virginia class-action pollution lawsuit against Monsanto Co. could be resolved before it goes to trial. There's a proposed settlement, but Judge Derek Swope, who has questions about it, has scheduled a hearing for Friday in Putnam County Circuit Court. Swope has sealed all documents pertaining to the proposed settlement. The lawsuit seeks medical monitoring for at least 5,000 current and former Nitro residents, and perhaps as many as 80,000, who allege a former Monsanto plant unsafely dispersed dioxin, exposing residential properties and streams to unsafe levels of the toxic chemical. During a court proceeding Thursday, Swope raised questions about several items, including a cleanup of residences. Swope said he had a problem with the man Monsanto suggested to administer the medical monitoring program, who Swope says is a former defense expert for the company.